1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cell/tissue mass selecting apparatus, and in particular, to a cell/tissue mass selecting apparatus utilizing a clamping-type dividing mechanism to complete multi procedures such as auto-selecting, cutting and transferring the cell/tissue mass.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cultivation of human embryonic stem is carried out by cultivating a cell mass on feeder cells or extracellular matrix. When proceeding in subculture, the cell mass is first divided into pieces, and then the selected piece is transferred to new feeder cells or extracellular matrix for further cultivation. However, the subculturing procedure is mostly accomplished by manual operation, resulting in inefficient use of time and increased possibility for cell differentiation and contamination.
A mechanical tool has been disclosed and is utilized for subculturing of cells, such as a cell subculturing device of Taiwan patent application No. 93141042. However, shortcomings are also noted. Cell mass is divided into pieces by a cutting mechanism, and a piece is then selected by a transferring mechanism. The transferring mechanism comprises a collecting stitch aligning with the selected piece and picking up the selected piece by suction.
The conventional cell subculturing device divides the cell in matrix and selects the divided piece from the cell mass. In other words, the cell subculturing device cannot select and cut an appointed area of the cell mass. Additionally, the cutting mechanism and the transferring mechanism have to work in cooperation to accomplish the subculture.